WIZCRAFT INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES IIFA FESTIVAL NEW YORK 2017

Wednesday 12 April, 2017

~For The First Time Ever New York Gears Up For The Biggest Celebration Of Indian Cinema~

Mumbai, 12th April 2017: The countdown to India’s biggest, most extravagant and spectacular global celebration of cinema has begun! The International Indian Film Academy is pleased to announce New York City, USA as the host city of the highly anticipated 18th Edition of the IIFA Weekend and Awards.

IIFA Festival, one of the most celebrated international events is all set to bring the biggest Bollywood celebrities and event to New York City at the iconic MetLife Stadium - 14th & 15th July 2017. The world renowned venue synonymous for hosting the illustrious NFL games, major concerts and entertainment events among others, MetLife Stadium will be host to the electrifying celebration of Indian cinema for the first time this summer.

Kick-starting the festival with the Voting Process for the Awards, IIFA Voting Weekend will be held in Mumbai from the 14th to the 16th of April 2017 at Indus, J.W Marriott Hotel from 10am to 10pm. At the IIFA Voting Weekend, members of the Indian Film Industry show their support to IIFA as they come forward to vote for their peers.
Following the tremendous success of IIFA, the enthusiasm and excitement is huge as IIFA travels to the United States for the second time. A premiere edition for New York, a city that is renowned to be a mecca for entertainment, business, fashion and culture makes it a perfect fit to the multi-faceted IIFA Festival. New York, known to be “The City That Never Sleeps” will most definitely be even more alive with the 48 hours of non-stop excitement and entertainment that will be brought there by IIFA with a star studded contingent travelling for the events.

Commenting on the occasion, New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio said, “We are thrilled to welcome IIFA to New York! Our city is home to both a thriving film industry and a dynamic, growing Indian American community. This is an event that will contribute enormously to both the cultural and economic life of our city. We welcome the artists and fans of Indian cinema, and encourage everyone to experience the rich cultural life across the five boroughs while celebrating these groundbreaking films.”
With the tremendous growth and recognition that IIFA has amassed over time we are now creating one of the biggest and grandest IIFA Awards shows to date with several new dimensions and developments to the concept of the show to build the outreach much more globally. IIFA 2017 aims at bringing the magic of Indian Cinema not only to New York but also to the whole of America.

The 2 day IIFA Festival New York will feature on Day 1 - IIFA Weekend Press Conference and IIFA Rocks Green Carpet & main event IIFA Rocks and then day 2 presents the much awaited IIFA Awards Green Carpet & IIFA Awards.

Ron VanDeVeen President & CEO, MetLife Stadium, said “We are honored that IIFA has chosen MetLife Stadium to host the 18th annual IIFA Awards and we look forward to welcoming the thousands of fans from around the world who will travel to New Jersey. This global event offers us the incredible opportunity to host our first-ever awards show and to continue to showcase our region to an international audience.”

Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd, known for pioneering many extravagant and mesmerizing events in India and across the world, conceptualized IIFA 17 years ago, by the creative genius of the trio of masterminds - Andre Timmins, Viraf Sarkari and Sabbas Joseph. The vision was to celebrate Indian cinema outside India; and IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) the flagship brand is the accomplishment of that dream. IIFA is dedicated to building bridges across cinema, businesses, communities and nations, creating everyone’s dream: “One People. One World”. The journey over these past 17 years has seen the brand evolve from a one night affair to a weekend, which celebrates and hosts various events and activities related to cinema, business, culture, music and fashion. Hosting over 15 different events during the weekend IIFA helps bring together a global community of people from all walks of life.

Right from its inception, IIFA continues to bring together the biggest stars of Bollywood and Hollywood on one stage, creating a platform of exchange between two of the world’s most prolific film industries. Over the years, IIFA has brought together the finest of entertainment to light up the stage wherever they go, from International superstars, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Thora Birch, Kylie Minougue, John Travolta, Hilary Swank and Kevin Spacey among others. Some of the celebrated personalities from the Indian film and music fraternity and Friends of IIFA who have supported us are Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Sonakshi Sinha, Boney Kapoor, Sridevi, Karan Johar, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani, Sajid Nadiadwala, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, A. R. Rahman, Pritam Chakraborty among others. Over the years, mayors and leading government officials, global dignitaries, delegates, business leaders have shown their support for IIFA.

This year, IIFA Festival, New York, 2017 will play host to some of the most celebrated stars of the Indian film industry, notable guests, and dignitaries from India and the region, world media and Indian cinema fans from across the globe.

Andre Timmins, Director- Wizcraft International, the producers and creator of the IIFA movement says, “I am really looking forward to the IIFA Festival this year as we are premiering our event in New York City and this is the ideal destination as we start to creatively evolve and grow the brand and its events. The brand is building the bridge between the Indian film industry along with the international world of entertainment to come together on one stage and this is the perfect destination to host such diverse and multi-cultural celebrations. IIFA Festival New York is going to be an extravaganza of entertainment like never witnessed before in America with the biggest stars from India and world class production coming together at one of the greatest venues – MetLife Stadium.”